THE KEROSENE TIN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 110, 1 February 1908, Page 11

THE KEROSENE TIN.

. Long, long- ago an' Australian at a wild "new rush''- in a 'newl'V<»ratry\t'urii©d'.. her • eyes to tho east ■ and the' ivest 1 ill' search, of i some utensil bigger than a billy can wherein n she might boil her husband's shirt-. A 'bat- ; t-ered kerosene tin' by the' wayside* attracted ; her attention. It answered the purpose;'and : since then £ltohumbloVarticlp•• •• an ' important position in ''tho' primitive household. ■■■<■•• ' With its assistance the-Australian housekeeper in tho farthest ''out back" region de- : monstrat.es> the difference; between' Icssentials and non-essentials;-- ; •> In'.it- she- boils, the ,'corn : beef' and' tho cahbagc.. and -tho :Christmas ' pudding; carries water from/ the creek;' milk from ■ the cow; gathers fruit in thc:oßcbard, honey'from the hive. By its aid she scrubs,' washes, 1 baths the- baby,, waters the'garden .- feeds- the-fowls,, and she converts it- into ,'a bprdtn'bearer for. sugar, flour, and rice l in' thev storeroom;. With the kerosene tin- by lior side, she-is'a: brave woman ready to face the hardships "of this'.wilderness..- . As . time- goes - oil- the -bush: ; !'humpy fre< quently gives place to- the comfortable home*stead,' and the- -kerosene 'fill"is - tlic' front vcraiuljili taking "a- veil-earned rest." Now resplendent in a-dark-green 6r red coatit holds.in'triuiiipli a 'gargeotis'geraiiiuin;o>'py' fuchsia. But in spite of the'fresh; paint and the twi'iiejl-over edges,. thoV traiiied' eyC recognises tlievfaiuiliar square'tin.:/'-'''' During the Boer war-a party: of, doctors .and .-nurses''in ;a newly-opened• hospital camp were at a loss for dressing .trays;. ■/Neither a piedish nor. si soup.plates was.'within liail.' But a number' of. kerosene • were •'at hand. It was then that an empty , tin and aii Australian nurso rose to the, occasion.. With, a pair of plaster'scissors she .cut down the tin,; deftly folded the edges,-!-and'. presented ,a~ useful dressing;tray, to a distinguished sur-' geon, showing, England .what Australia could; do. in emergencies—^with 'the-,-aid of -a kero-. sene tin. The immigrant, who contrives to get rapidly in touch Avith the kerosene .tin, will probably prove a success as a coloiiist;' while sho who v gazes at it in dismay,,-ami- look back at tho flesh pots of 3Cgy.pt,-rthe enamelled pans, a'rid'"tins:,up-to-date,.wasjiing.machine, will very surely ho ;a;'strang?. country', until, the*'end.'X, n.l:'-.'. For- above, all'4'hiiigs'" the. ,kerosene tin preaches in season/and. out of. season the. power as ii colonising force-of adaptability. —A.M.; in- the "Sydney. Morning Herald.-y